thewastesfandomcom-20200214-history
Kingdom of Belville
Belville, officially the Kingdom of Belville (formerly: Bellville) is a large settlement in the south of Texas, serving as the primary neo-feudalist state in the region. The Kingdom is a monarchal society, ruled by the House of the Newman Dynasty and the Assembly, a senate headed by local lords in service of the King of the Realm. Due to its location, climate and living standards, many families from with varied trades have moved into the Kingdom of Belville, providing the Kingdom with an increasingly diverse economy. History Morganian Period Originally a small town before the war, Belville was established as a chiefdom in the wake of the Great War by Morgan Klemens, the granddaughter of Michael Newman, founder of Newman's Bakery. Morgans cousins, Devin and Weston, were killed in Houston when the bombs fell, and her sister, Sarah Postl, was left barren after the radioactive fallout took her son, Ryan, and left her ill. This left her eldest son Casey as patriarch of the family. Casey was an ill child, and following the war struggled to eat. Due to his poor health, Morgan elected her younger son, Evan II, as chief. At the age of only three, Morgan was left as regent until her son came of age. First Evanian Period In 2085, Morgan and her husband passed away. Evan II became chief, and through Melissa Bo Pip, would have two children, Fig and Isaiah. Evan and Melissa were aware that they would need to bring in support to keep their people prosperous. This resulted in the political marriages of Fig and Isaiah. Fig was married to Matilda, heir of the Phenix family of blacksmiths, and Isaiah was married to Kelly, daughter to the Treybig family; wealthy owners of a large winery. Both families relocated into Belville in response, bringing their trade with them. These unions saw Belville blossom, and the population nearly tripled as many new trades and opportunities presented themselves. Many referred to Evan II as Good King Evan, and his time as chief is regarded for its peace and luxury. Shift to Monarchy Evan II fell ill in 2114, and abdicated his throne at the age of 40. Fig was chosen as chief, around which time Matilda was made the matriarch her own family. In the years that followed, both Fig and Matilda worked hard to keep the prosperity of Evan alive. Isaiah, who had been only 14 when his father passed, grew into a close ally of his brother, and within five years of his fathers passing welcomed twins, Lucile and Kennedy. Kelly, whose family had taken large swathes of land to abide their vineyards, spoiled the children heavily, who often spent their time in Treybig homes. At the age of 32, Fig and Matilda welcomed their first child, Cowboy. Seven years younger than both Lucile and Kennedy, many were already expecting to elect him as chief. This drew tension from the Treybig family, who had expected one of Isaiah and Kellys children to be elected. In 2142, Fig Klemens was succeeded by Cowboy thanks to the tie-breaking vote of his uncle Isaiah. Isaiah became a close advisor to Cowboy just as he had been to Fig, something his wife and her family resented. Due to the growth of the family, Isaiah and Fig had come to the conclusion to convert the chiefdom to a monarchal state, allowing Cowboys first born child to inherit rulership without concern or confusion. Though intended to ease tensions, it instead deepened them, and Cowboy and Isaiah failed to adjust. With the birth of Sarah in 2151, and Evan III five years after, it was clear that the Treybig bloodline was being denied a place in line of succession. Cowboys sister, Ambrosia, had her own son born two years before Evan III. This child, Matthew Alecci, passed away at a young age, and grief stricken, his mother followed suit. The Treybigs declared the mourning Cowboy weak, leaving a great divide within the Kingdom of Belville. Treybig Rebellion In 2160, the Treybig Rebellion began after Kennedy Klemens attempted to occupy Bakers Keep. The Treybigs had used their wine trade to purchase firearms and militarise, and had not expected any resistance. Due to the closeness of the Phenix family of blacksmiths that had married into the family through Fig, Cowboy had armed many of his people in case of an external threat. Though only rudimentary, the defenders were able to repel Kennedy and his force, killing the male Klemens in the process. Isaiah attempted to ease the hostilities, going so far as to harbour his third child, Chel, within the Bakers Keep in hopes her hostage would end the conflict. Instead, the Treybigs funded Lucille Klemens and claimed Isaiah a traitor. Reclaiming Chel became the driving instigator of the family, and 2165, Isaiah was captured and executed. In the years that followed, the Kingdom of Belville was torn apart in conflict. It wasn't until 2168, with the death of Lucille Klemens, that the rebellion was finally put to rest. Chel was married to Brett Hamilton, a local landowner following the war, forming the Klemens-Hamilton family. As Kennedy had sired no sons, there was no longer a direct lineage in the Treybig bloodline to the line of succession, and so the Treybigs surrendered, though they did not cease resenting to the royal line. Post-Rebellion Period The Kingdom of Belville proceeded to rebuild after the rebellion, and with Cowboys eventual passing in 2187, large portions of land were gifted to supporters of the royal family. This occupation of land and territories aided the Kingdoms growth, bringing in wastelanders and vagrants with no ties to the land before the Great War. This led to an unforeseen issue when Sarah, Cowboys eldest child, married Luca, a waster with no belongings or authority. Marriage to a wastelander with no name or belongings was seen by Cowboy as a dishonour to his lineage, which had been purely bred into pre-war families before then. Many of the loyal families in the Kingdom shunned Sarah and her husband. Though these loyal families pleaded with the King to opt in his son, Evan III, as heir, Cowboy refused. In 2187, Cowboy was found in his chambers, having died in his sleep. This left a power vacuum when the noble lords rejected Sarahs claim to the throne. Second Evanian Period At the behest of her mother and husband, Sarah abdicated her position only a month after her fathers death, passing the position to her younger brother Evan III, who took his place as King at the age of 31. His reign would be the longest on record, and was marked with large reforms and restorations. Evan III's first act as King was the Restoration of Michael, in which the royal family abandoned the surname of Klemens and adopted their heritage name of Newman. Though initially an unpopular move, the loyal lords, include the Klemens-Hamilton family, would come to understand and support the decision. His second act saw the establishment of the Assembly, a gathering of Counts and Barons to work as a forum and senate for the kingdom and its dominions. The members of the Assembly are divided, with the Counts operating on large policies to run by the King himself, while the Barons are responsible for managing more direct concerns. Despite his active efforts to improve the kingdom, Evan III's reign was not without problems. Through his wife, Sierra Tallahassee, Evan III had expected to bring the loyal Bale family, a line of butchers who had used their trade to keep the population well fed and cared for in hard times, into the line of succession. The couple failed to produce an heir for the majority of their relationship, and fears of fertility ran rampant through the Kingdom of Belville. These fears were put to rest when Sierra fell pregnant in 2221. Though it finally seemed a direct heir would be born, Sierra and her child both died during the birthing process, and Evan III never remarried or took a mistress. Sarah and Luca, now both having taken the name Newman, gave birth to only one child, Cole Newman, in 2174. Cole took to military work, and married a waster by the name of Lily early in his life. Many in the Kingdom of Belville treated him with little respect, even after the passing of Sierra and her child had left him the next direct heir. Fig II, Cole and Lily's only child and son, was born in 2200, and grew to be incredibly close to his great-uncle. At a young age, Fig had been close with Lashlee, a waster girl who would give him a son, Krieg, in 2222. After the death of Cole in 2223, Fig II was taken in by Evan III to be cared for, along with his mother. Over the course of his 56-year reign, Evan III never sired a child, leaving Fig II as the next direct heir. Twenty years after the death of his brother, Evan III passed away, leaving a prosperous and flourishing Kingdom. Fig Period Despite the treatment of his grandmother and his father, many nobles of the Kingdom of Belville had treated Fig II with reverence. This came from the widely held expectation that he would be the next King, despite his waster blood. Fig II had been raised aware of the disdain held for his father, and so knew that his first-born child would not make a fitting heir for the Kingdom. At the advice of the Assembly established by Evan III, Fig II married Omaha Klemens-Hamilton, and disowned his first-born son Krieg from the line of succession. Krieg, who was 23 at the time of the marriage, accepted this decision without contest. He was named Castellan of Bakers Keep, and ensured that he would always be part of the household. Fig II and Omaha's first son, Edmund, became a figure of great adoration in the Kingdom of Belville, seen as a restoration to order in the succession that had been lost amidst fear and tragedy ever since the Treybig Rebellion. This adoration was also given to Lisa and Samson, Edmunds younger sister and brother respectively, and in 2060, Edmund took the throne after the passing of his father. Edmundian Period In the years since, Edmund and his siblings have used their positions to endear their people and expand the strength of the Kingdom of Belville, with Samson leading the military force of the Kingdom while Lisa was sent to the Dukedom of Brokenbow, in the hopes of a marriage to a lord in the north. Edmund and Krieg have worked very closely, with Krieg acting as the primary advisor to the King in all matters. Regions and Territories The counties of the Kingdom of Belville were defined under Evan III, based loosely on holdings established under Evan II. Each county has a ruler, almost all of which are referred to as Count or Countess respectively. The only exceptions are Huffman, the ruler being referred to as Lord Duke of Huffman, and Rohan, the ruler being referred to as Marquees of Rohan. The Counts are the paternal heads of their Families; each Family rules their respective region. The following table goes in descending order from north to south of Belville. __FORCETOC__